This invention relates in general to motor vehicles and, in particular, to a console for motor vehicles.
Motor vehicle consoles are well known. Such consoles are typically equipped with various displays, controls, and convenience features that are accessible to occupants of the vehicle. For example, some consoles include display screens, climate controls, light modules, and storage compartments.
Overhead consoles are typically attached to the roof of the motor vehicle. Such consoles are usually centrally located along the longitudinal axis of the roof and extend toward the rear of the vehicle from a front edge of the roof panel adjacent the windshield. Overhead consoles are manufactured in various lengths, depending on the features in the console. For example, a console having a display and light modules can have a longitudinal length of about 4-inches (10 cm). Consoles having more features, such as controls for various systems of the vehicle and multiple storage compartments, can extend into the rear portion of a passenger compartment of the vehicle, behind the front occupants.
Typically, overhead consoles include a single plastic housing that extends the entire length of the console. The housing includes slots or openings formed therein for receiving displays or controls, or access doors leading to storage compartments. Generally, a single console is designed for each particular motor vehicle platform due to the difference in the shapes and sizes of roof panels. In some vehicle platforms, certain modules are standard while others may be optionally purchased features of the vehicle. Since the overhead console is a singular unit formed from a single housing, the vehicle purchaser must elect to buy the entire console, even though the purchaser may only want certain features built therein.
What is needed is a console that can be more conveniently configured according to the vehicle platform and the vehicle purchaser's needs.